Primator Premium Dark Lager is Better Than Black Lion Lev Dark Beer

Dark beer. Dark Lager.What do these names convey when they are expressed? I don’t know about you folks but when I think about dark beer or dark lager, I think that they are dark in color or at the very least, dark and/or heavy in body but this bottle of Primator Dark Lager is anything but. Well, that’s false. There’s definitely some type of body to it but it’s not what you’d expect, especially when you pour this out into a tall glass. It certainly does give you the impression that it’s going to be a heavy drink with perhaps a bitter aftertaste once it goes down the gullet. No. I assure you that it tastes a lot lighter than the color or the foam head would let you believe.

Between this beer and the previous beer that I’ve tried last week, I definitely like this one a lot better. While the Black Lion Lev had a creamier texture, this bottle of Primator Dark Lager actually makes up its short falls by being particularly malty. It’s hard to describe the taste of malt, in my opinion, especially when I’m trying to break this down to the non-beer connoisseur. To the beer connoisseur, they know exactly what this malt taste is and how to describe it to the regular beer drinkers but to those unfamiliar to it, I can only compare it to the Japanese beer called Kirin Ichiban. That one has a heavy malt taste and most Japanese beer tend to be on the light side, so far as malt is concerned. If you ever get the chance, do stop by a Japanese market or Asian supermarket and try out a bottle of Kirin Ichiban. Amongst all the Japanese beer I’ve tried to date (Kirin, Sapporo, Asahi), I definitely like Kirin’s “bite” on the first sip but at the end of the day, may find Kirin’s malt taste to have too sweet of a finish. So for regular drinkers of Japanese beer, most American drinkers may actually err on the side of picking Sapporo or Asahi because relative to the former, it’s a lot more dry (less sweet) and much ‘cleaner’ taste as a result of it being so much more dry. Don’t get me wrong, I like Sapporo and Asahi and I would pick them on a typical Friday night out, if I just so happen to be at a bar where they serve these beers, but every once in a while, I pick Kirin as my choice of beer because of that extra ‘bite’ from the malt flavor that neither of the latter two have.

Getting back to the Primator, like the Black Lion Lev, I find that there isn’t much carbonation involved. Sure, there’s that initial “fizz” upon popping this bottle fresh from the refrigerator but afterward, it settles down rather quickly and plays a much more minor role in the taste of this beer than what I’m more accustomed to in American beers. And by American beers, I’m not talking about the craft beers or micro brewed beers, which I would rank much higher than the mass produced, heavily marketed at Super Bowl type of American beers. And just to name a few, I mean specifically Budweiser, Coors, Miller’s, Pabst Blue Ribbon, Schlitt’s, Rolling Rock, etc. In my experience thus far, I find that these American beers tend to be very fizzy and remain that way indefinitely until you get to the bottom of that bottle or can.

Anyway, carbonation is definitely not a key point for this beer. Another thing I’ve noticed is that it doesn’t have that characteristic sour flavor towards the end and it doesn’t seem to leave that icky flavor on your lips like the Black Lion Lev does. Other than these details, there’s nothing else that I can tell you about this beer. I like it. I like it a lot better than the Black Lion Lev but only time will tell until I find that perfect dark beer or dark lager for a fairly cheap price that would be my go-to dark beer on the cheap, you know what I mean? When it’s all said and done, I would definitely recommend this dark beer for first time drinkers of dark beers but don’t know where to start or don’t particularly like to start with Guiness to form your base expectations for dark beers.